Is Ashley Madison Still Around? Updates on Controversial Dating Site Amid New Netflix Doc
Controversial dating website Ashley Madison – whose demographic was married people looking to have an affair – was hacked in 2015 and personal information on its more than 30 million users was leaked. But did the scandal force the site to shut down or is Ashley Madison still around today?
What Is the Ashley Madison Leak?
In July 2015, a group of hackers who called themselves The Impact Team gained access to Ashley Madison’s private database. Despite the website claiming to be “confidential” and “100 percent discreet,” The Impact Team gave the Canada-based company an ultimatum: shut down operations or they would release the private information on all of the site’s users.
After AM refused to shut its doors, the hackers went to the press and released the names of 32 million users on August 18, 2015.
Is Ashley Madison Still Around?
Ashley Madison proved that any press is good press as they were able to bounce back from the worldwide scandal and continue to grow in the decade since. The company still uses the tagline, “Life is short. Have an affair.”
“Every day, people just like you join the Ashley Madison network to find discreet relationships of all kinds,” the website reads. “Married, attached, looking to explore, or just curious to discover what’s out there – Ashley Madison is the leading discreet, like-minded dating community in the world.”
Shortly after the leak, AM’s then-CEO Noel Biderman “took the fall” and stepped down.
“At that point, we didn’t know if Ashley Madison would survive,” a former employee said during the 2024 Netflix doc, Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal.
“After the hack, Ashley Madison continued under the leadership of a new CEO,” a note at the end of the docuseries read. “The company claims to have over 70 million subscribers.”
Which Celebrities Were Involved in the Leak?
Among the list of users were notable celebrities such as Josh Duggar of 19 Kids & Counting fame, Christian YouTube influencer Sam Rader and Jersey Shore star Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi’s husband, Jionni LaValle.
While the disgraced reality star admitted to his indiscretions, calling himself “the biggest hypocrite ever,” others denied having any involvement in the “affair” website.
“I’m lucky if he knows how to even use a computer, yet go on Ashley Madison to cheat on me,” Snooki said of her husband. “It’s so stupid, and we honestly think, like, someone is trying to f--k with us because this isn’t the first story that Jionni’s been cheating on me. But all these stories never have evidence. There’s never a photo, there’s never text messages, there’s nothing.”
She later doubled down, releasing a statement amid the Netflix docuseries, denying Jionni ever had an account.
As for the YouTube star, he initially admitted to having an account, but denied ever physically cheating on his wife. Sam, while participating in the Netflix doc, later retracted his words and opened up about “years of betrayal.”
